


your sunshine

by sylviebrettsfanpage



Category: Chicago Fire
Genre: Angst, F/M, Happy Ending, Spoilers 9x06
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-12 03:40:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29378640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sylviebrettsfanpage/pseuds/sylviebrettsfanpage
Summary: How being with other people always makes you miss your person more.
Relationships: Sylvie Brett/Matthew Casey
Comments: 7
Kudos: 62





	your sunshine

**Author's Note:**

> This kinda includes all I know about the coming episodes, and I really doubt it’ll go like this, but this was fun to write. Anyways on Twitter i heard that Casey might have a house. And I’m so shocked, like wow! And Miranda possibly possibly spoiled a stellaride engagement, so I’m a little all over the place. Enjoy!

Mackey was right. She did need to find some fun on her own. Sure she was more than capable of moving on, so she should… right? Sylvie didn’t have much clarity anymore. Everything going on outside of work was far from in her control, which blindsided her, and made her a little uncomfortable too. It wasn’t that she had to always be in control, it’s just that she wanted a bit of knowledge on where she stood with certain things and people. 

But she was more than aware that Matt had moved on. Him and the kitten claw girl… Sidney, well they seemed pretty chummy when she stopped by the firehouse. It wasn’t that she thought the girl was bad for him, cause she barely knew more than her first name. But she hated that Matt was no longer being honest with her. She had seen the shirt… the shirt he hid from her. Of course she noticed him standing there with his hands behind his back when she was getting into 61, she wasn’t an idiot, and she sure as hell wasn’t that blind.

And here she was again. Alone in her apartment, with nothing to think about besides what a failure her life was. At this point she was unsure why she even tried to make relationships work. Everyone she had ever been in… had ended in flames.

Harrison, her high school sweetheart, had left her at the altar. Joe had been great to her, but she was far too comfortable with him, and he ended up being a much better best friend and roomdog. Antonio had been fun, they had fun moments. But they were in far too different places while they dated. And the funny thing about that was… it wasn’t just a one time thing, she was on and off with him for about 2 years. Then there was Kyle who was such a sweet guy. And it wasn’t her first time dating in the department, but he was the chaplin, and that truly was their downfall. Sylvie even to this day doesn’t know why she said yes to his proposal. She liked him, but the love he said he felt for her, wasn’t the way she felt for him. And 51 was her home after all, the home that she could have as many brothers and sisters as she wanted, but just never a boyfriend.

She’s 30 years old for god’s sake. She should at least be in a stable relationship. And that relationship should be with someone with potential and not her couch and wine glass. Her life was a cataclysm. And yes, that was a new word, but it felt accurate for everything.

Her life felt more uprooted than the fire at the homeless encampment. Whatever happened at that place was sketchy as hell, and it almost cost a few of them their lives, but she didn’t have the motivation to make any headways right now. And just in traditional fashion, the next call had been even weirder, if that was even possible. 

Her and Mackey had gotten a call to a cemetery. Of course she knew it was the cemetery from just the address. She’d been to way too many funerals in the last year. But part of her had to wonder why anyone at a cemetery needed paramedics. The call had ended up being some idiot who had climbed on top of a stone, and it had fallen on him. She truly wondered what went on in the mind of someone like that. 

They had called for a man power assist, and much to her surprise, Engine 40 had rolled up. She hadn’t heard much about them since Mouch had waved the white flag, but of course she had remembered Greg Grainger. Partially because of his unique… and maybe a bit unfortunate name. He had talked to her a little during the call, and if she was being honest, he was fairly easy to talk to, considering they were at an accident scene and it was freezing outside.

That’s when Mackey’s word had really hit her. She should be getting out again, and Grainger was a good start. They both worked in the CFD, and at different houses which would make everything easier if it did work out, and they had the same shifts.

She punched out quickly after shift, and rushed quickly over to firehouse 40. She was hoping to catch Grainger before he left, and she figured he’d stay late because of being a lieutenant and all the paperwork that entails. 

At the firehouse, she had walked up the app floor, saying hello to the paramedics as she passed. Just before she entered the common room of their house, she had caught his tall stature and green eyes.

“Sylvie Brett?” Greg said with a light chuckle. “What brings you here?”  
“Well…” Sylvie started. She really needed to just rip the bandaid off, “I was wondering if you wanna grab a drink or dinner sometime?”  
“How about now?” Greg said, “I'm free all day.”  
Sylvie wasn’t expecting that, “Uh sure. I know a good breakfast place just down the street.”  
“Let me grab my jacket, and I’ll meet you there.” Greg explained as his smile brightened.

He was a charmer… but he was also really sweet. They had eaten breakfast together, they talked about work, about their friends, and a little about their family. She had learned that Greg was raised by a single mother, here in Chicago. He had one older brother, and had 2 nephews. She had told him about Fowlerton, and he got a kick out of her being from a small town USA. She had skimmed through the topic of her birth mom and baby sister Amelia, before skipping to talk about her friends at 51. Greg had also talked about how cool it was that Stella was taking the lieutenant’s test. Overall Greg Grainger was a really nice guy. He was essentially perfect, and Sylvie did believe that the longer and more they got to know each other, the more they would fit. Her heart just had to get used to his green eyes and not the blue ones that broke her heart. 

\--------

Being with Greg was really nice. He treated her really well, he had a lot of respect for women, which was news compared to other people she had been with. She really enjoyed him, he made her laugh, smile, and at times be a little goofy. They grabbed drinks at Molly’s and a few times at the place most firefighters from Engine 40 hung out at. She had enjoyed getting to know his friends, they were all solid smoke-eaters with a passion for the job. 

They had gone on 4 official dates over the last month. A few had been to dinner, and another one was to a movie. And they had all been a real refreshment for Sylvie. It was really refreshing to be with someone who respected her enough to not break her heart. Somehow it felt like Greg knew her triggers and her nervous ticks. He knew she was annoyed when her eyes wandered around the room endlessly, and he knew she was nervous when she fiddled with her watch band. And she knew he really valued respect, but he knew how to let loose and have a good time. And they both shared the mutual trait of being family oriented.

One morning he had shown up at 51 at the start of shift, and Sylvie was a bit surprised to find out that he was filling in for Herrmann. She was confused because he wasn’t a floater, and he had a spot at 40, and a crew that was used to taking orders from him. 

Stella had gotten a good joke out about that. She had joked that they had moved in together sooner than she had with Severide. Which was bogus since her and Severide had lived together before they even dated. And if Sylvie was being honest, it was kinda nice having him to talk to. She used to talk to Matt, but not anymore. And it was energizing to be able to talk to Greg that way.

That day in particular was icy. Literally the snow had piled up along the Chicago streets, but somehow the continual falling of snow hadn’t stopped the fires, which was a bit frustrating. There had been a fire at a dance studio. Grainger had called for her and Mackey into the fire scene. Sylvie was vividly aware of what had happened last time she had been in her turnouts, but she had full trust in her officers. 

Her and Mackey had gotten a few critical people out of the building, and then rushed to Med. It had been a bit of a chaotic scene at Med, something about Choi being under the weather or something. She was a bit caught up in 51 drama the last few months to be catching up on the Med drama from Maggie or April. 

After they had gotten back to 51, she had gone to the bunkroom to drop off something to Severide about the last call. Before she got there, she heard 2 familiar voices, both raised.

“You can’t just call them in like that?”

“Why not? Isn’t that their job?”

“I’m Captain at 51, don’t come in and start changing the way I do things!”

“I was just trying to make sure we got everyone safe. That’s our job.”

Sylvie was really confused. Casey and Grainger were having a large disagreement. And from what she had heard, it was about her and Mackey. Though she shuddered to believe Gianna had anything to do with the true reason Casey was upset. 

This was the thing that pissed her off about men. They like to push her around, and talk about her like she’s some object to be guarded and obtained. It’s like they didn’t get that she wasn’t afraid of a fire, she would much rather be in the medical side than the firefighting side of the CFD, but she was going to do whatever it took to save lives, and sometimes if that meant putting herself in harm's way, so be it.

Sylvie took a step back, and chased the shadow in front of her. She grabbed Stella’s hand and pulled her into the turnout room.

Stella looked back at her with a confused look, “please tell me you didn’t accidentally pronounce your love for someone again?”  
Sylvie smirked at Stella, “no, but I walked in to Casey and Grainger talking about me.”  
“About you?” Stella asked for clarification.  
“More like yelling,” Sylvie sighed.  
“Why were they yelling?” Stella asked.  
“Apparently Matt is mad at Grainger for calling Mackey and I into the fire this morning.” Sylvie said, though she doesn’t even know much about it herself.  
“Why? I mean I know the history, but you’re fine and so is Mackey, so why is he so wound up about it?” Stella asked.  
“I don’t know, and it's a little patronizing,” Sylvie states.  
Stella raises her eyebrows and nods in agreement, “tell me about it. Kelly, my poor emotionally stunted man, thought he was protecting me by not telling me about what Conway said. It’s like they don’t understand that we don’t need to be coddled.”  
“That’s so true. I love Greg and how much he respects me, but I don’t need defending. And if I did, I wouldn’t ask him for it.” Sylvie states as she smiles at Stella, “guys are such a mystery.”  
Stella laughed, “no kidding.”

Much to Sylvie’s luck the rest of the shift had been busy. It was kinda nice not having to face either Matt or Greg, but she knew the longer she put it off the larger the weight on her shoulders would be. 

She stood in front of Greg’s ranger waiting for him to come out. Her arms crossed firmly in front of her. He smiled, walking up to her, and she faked one back.

“Hey,” Greg stated.  
“You know I heard,” Sylvie stated bluntly.  
“Heard what?” Greg chirped.  
“You and Casey,” Sylvie replied.  
“He was wound up, and it was a bit condescending to a man’s ego,” Greg laughed.  
“Don’t talk about Casey like that,” Sylvie barked.  
Greg puzzled, and then his face relaxed, “Sylvie I know what this is about.”  
“No, you couldn’t,” Sylvie said.  
“It’s impossible not to notice the way he looks at you, and the way you talk to each other,” Greg sighed.   
“You don’t know the full story,” Sylvie defends.  
“All I know is that if I was you and a guy looked at me the way he looks at you, I wouldn’t be wasting my time on someone else,” Greg explained. “You deserve happiness, Sylvie Brett. And I might have given that to you momentarily, and now you gotta face it. Whatever the problem is, get it worked out.”  
Sylvie stood there, jaw on the floor as Greg hopped in his car and drove off.

\----------

Sylvie was stunned. She did not expect that from Greg. I guess just when you think you know someone, they always bring a new card to the table. 

Here she was pacing back and forth in front of the door to Severide, Kidd, and Casey’s place, debating whether to knock or not. 

She was well aware they needed to have a long overdue conversation. The second she knocked, Casey was face to face with her again, inviting her in.

“You want a beer?” He asks as she shakes her head.  
“Give me one reason to believe that what you said to me in your quarters that day was true,” Sylvie burst out.  
Matt stood there for a second processing the exact words that had just flew out of her pretty mouth. “Because you are the only person I’d ever leave Chicago for.”  
“Then why did you have to go cause a whole fuss with Grainger?” Sylvie asked.  
Matt didn’t know she had heard, but I guess he might have been speaking too loud, “Because I should be the one to be there to catch you and put you on your feet.”  
“Matt, I don’t need catching, and I don’t need someone to fight my battles for me,” Sylvie exclaimed.  
“Sylvie, you of all people know I fight for the people I love,” Matt defended.  
Sylvie scoffed, that couldn’t be his serious response, “You didn’t seem to fight for Gabby.”  
“Did I not say I fight for the people I love. When she left she didn’t love me, and I didn’t love her enough to tear her away from her passions in life,” Matt explained.  
“Then why haven’t you fought for me?” Sylvie asked.  
“Because I want you to be happy, and if you’re happy with Grainger then what am I to ruin that for you. The only thing that lets me sleep at night is knowing that you are happy.” Matt exclaimed as Sylvie’s face turned from anger to blank. Did he really feel that way about her?  
“You promise you mean that?” Sylvie asked, biting her lip.  
Matt took 2 long strides and was right next to her, he cupped her cheek with the palm of his hand, “anyone who tries to break your sunshine isn’t worth the light it gives off.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed reading this! I had a lot of fun writing it!


End file.
